


A Very Paternoster Christmas

by Firecadet



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Eleventh Doctor Era, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-20 15:03:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13149156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firecadet/pseuds/Firecadet
Summary: Vastra and Jenny celebrate Christmas at Paternoster Row, with Clara and the Doctor.





	A Very Paternoster Christmas

17th December 1893, Covent Garden Market, Westminster.

As the Paternoster growler rolled into the market at Covent Garden, Jenny mentally tallied various items.

_Cosh, check. Pistol, check. Purse, check. Wife, check. Strax, check._

As her goal was to leave with the same items as she’d arrived, this slightly complicated matters. Vastra was enjoying the unseasonably warm weather and the sunshine, and dressed in one of her typical black dresses, with a hat, decorated with black flowers and lace and a veil. Jenny was wearing her uniform, along with a small hat, featuring a single black lace flower. Up front, Strax was wearing his suit, along with a top hat, which almost disguised him as human.

She was more concerned about not departing with Strax than not departing with Vastra. The Silurian, although capable of causing trouble, was at least well behaved in public. She was possibly not as dignified as most women of her pretended station, but nonetheless, made an excellent showing of it. Strax… was the only person in London usually armed with enough weaponry to seriously inconvenience a Royal Sovereign-class battleship.

Rolling up to the curb near the market, Strax parked the growler neatly and applied the brakes, before fitting the horse with a feed bag.

With the horse occupied, he stepped around to the curbside door of the carriage. Although both Jenny and Vastra were capable of opening the door, it was something they allowed Strax to do, and reinforced their status in the eyes of others.

As they clambered out, Jenny leant over, putting her head just behind Vastra’s and whispered to her wife. “I’ll git yer sum decint jerky, darling.”

At the close range, she was able to see Vastra’s tongue flick out slightly.

“Thank you, Jenny.” The Silurian replied.  “Strax, would you stay with the coach, please?” Vastra asked.

“I shall do so, Sir.” He replied.

“Jenny, once we have chosen a tree, could you get me some sweetmeats?” Vastra asked.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Jenny replied, subservient in public.

Their first task was to choose a Christmas tree.

Based on the layout of the market, and their requirements, it wasn’t hard to spot the rows of wooden rails, supporting green pines wrapped in old fishnets.

The two spent some minutes browsing. Jenny’s preference was for a smaller, broader tree, with thick, spreading branches that would allow ample hanging of decorations. Vastra preferred a tree closer to the golden ratio, which meant six feet in height, and more than a meter across at the base of the boughs.

Eventually, they settled, amicably, on a tree slightly shorter than Vastra, and less voluminous than Jenny would have preferred. With the aid of the stallholder, Jenny carried it back to the coach, and it was roped to the roof for the trip back through London.

Then the two split up.

Jenny went on a round of the market, as did Vastra. Each of them had a small sack, made from cotton, which they filled with oddments of jewellery and small treats. Each also bought the other little novelties that neither of them would have been able to justify buying themselves.

Vastra bought Jenny a set of small, metal humans, unpainted, and showing bare lead. Although she knew what they were, buying her wife some toy soldiers was intended to put a smile on the human’s face. She also bought several new pendants and charms for her existing jewellery, along with a linen overcoat and a gold chain. For their collection, she bought half a dozen bracelets, three necklaces and four sets of earrings.

Jenny, meanwhile, did a circuit of a different section of the market. Her bag, for Vastra, was quickly filled with an assortment of hard sweets, candied fruit and small baked items, while she bought a set of well-balanced knives for her primary present to her wife. Although they were designed for use in the kitchen, converting them for throwing would be a straightforward job.

It was also her role to fill up another pair of stockings, which she filled with a mound of unusual sweets, a few bags of candied fruit, and a small engraved platter each.

After that, it was time to return to the house. Strax had behaved himself, which meant that there were no constables to placate.

At the Row, and out of sight, Vastra joined Jenny and Strax in hauling the Christmas tree through the house and into the parlour, where it was deposited, alongside the collection of chairs used for consultations. A pot of sand was waiting for it, and the tree was placed upright, before being secured enough that it would not fall over.

At that point, Jenny led the small party on an expedition into the attic, which contained their Christmas decorations. The baubles, stored in individual, padded containers, were carried carefully downstairs, along with the tinsel, made from spirals of flat wire. A selection of brightly coloured shapes were also rooted out, and hauled downstairs by Jenny.

Each part of the tree was carefully decorated, leaving a small masterpiece. From nooks and crannies, various small wrapped boxes were hunted out, and deposited in near secrecy over the next few days.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

25th December 1893.

Although the sound of the dawn chorus was normally sufficient to wake Jenny and Vastra, it was somewhat muted by the heavy fog which had blown in from the southwest overnight. Jenny was awoken by a sleepy Silurian nuzzling her, clearly having woken before her wife.

“Morning, Jenny.” Vastra said, quietly. The silurian’s arms were around her wife, and were being quite expressive.

“Mornin’, Ma’am.” The human replied. “I need ter git the goose on, if yer don’t mind. Particularly since we’ve got the Doctor an’ Clara comin’ fer Christmas dinner.”

Vastra made a noise in her throat, which Jenny responded to with a grin.

“Yer’ve had me all ter yerself fer the last coupla days, since we packed Strax off ter Glasgow.” Jenny commented. The sontaran had travelled two days after a major storm, which, thankfully, hadn’t brought down trees onto the line.

The goose, plucked the night before, was quickly cleaned, before being glazed with honey, and placed into the oven, along with a small mound of potatoes, coated in grease fat. On the stove, a number of pans contained brussels sprouts, tinned garden peas, while carrots and parsnips coated in a thin layer of goose fat sat in a tray above the turkey.

The gibbets and neck of the turkey went into a pan, before they were boiled and rendered to produce gravy, along with a small scoop of corn-starch to act as a thickening agent.

Cooking the turkey occupied Jenny until lunchtime, which was greeted both by the sound of the phonograph playing carols, and another, more unusual sound, even by the standards of Victorian London.

A wheezing, groaning sound rang out in the stable yard at the rear of the house. Looking out through the kitchen window, Jenny watched as a blue box materialised on the cobblestones, before a pair of familiar figures stepped out.

The Doctor looked around the stable yard, the slight westerly ruffling his short brown hair, clearly grateful for his tweed jacket. Next to him, Clara was wearing a dress that fitted with the period, green and ruffled, with full length sleeves and a matching hat, complete with flower and ribbons.

The two crossed over to the kitchen steps, before Jenny opened the door.

“Come in, the pair of you.” She said, with a warm smile. Although the Doctor had overstepped his bounds while they were in Yorkshire, he’d not-apologised afterwards.

He got a peck on the cheek, while Clara got a full-arm hug. She resisted the urge to try and go further. That boundary had been explored, politely. Jenny was married to Vastra. Even if the Silurian wasn’t always that… good at remembering it.

“Can I get you anythin’?” she asked, looking over the two. Both of them had clearly been recently exposed to snow.

“A cup of tea would be marvellous, Jenny.” The Doctor said.

“And me.” Clara seconded, looking around the busy kitchen.

“She’s waitin’ fer yer in the sittin’ room.” Jenny said, with a smile. Taking the hint, Clara and the Doctor headed through.

Jenny followed them, shortly, with a pot of tea and four cups.

Later, there would be presents, dancing, and lots of rich food.

For now, though, there were four friends, sharing a pot of tea, while listening to a record playing Christmas songs.

Jenny smiled as she poured the tea and took her seat.

Christmas is always about who it is spent with.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a bit of light fluff, written in a couple of hours.


End file.
